Visor for a ballistic protective helmet

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a visor for a ballistic protective helmet having: a visor pane; a splinter protective lip arranged in an edge region of the visor pane, wherein the splinter protective lip encloses at least partly an edge of the visor pane.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to a visor for a ballistic protective helmet.

PRIOR ART

A ballistic protective helmet protects the head of its wearer from direct firing with firearms but also from splinters and the impact of cutting or thrust weapons as well as from punches with hard objects. Such helmets are therefore worn for self-protection by special operations forces and increasingly also by policemen arriving on site first (so-called “first responders”).

The fundamental protective effect of a protective helmet consists in stopping an impinging projectile (such as a bullet or a splinter) and preventing the projectile from penetrating the head of a wearer of the protective helmet. Another important aspect of the protective effect consists in keeping the impact of the kinetic energy of the projectile onto the head of the wearer as low as possible.

To protect the face, in particular the eyes, ballistic protective helmets are frequently equipped with visors. These can be permanently or removably secured to the protective helmet and can usually be removed from the field of view by a rotary motion, e.g., when there is no hazardous situation at the moment. The protective effect of such visors is based on visor panes, which are able to degrade the energy of impinging projectiles, splinters or punches and to prevent an impact of the impinging projectiles, splinters or punches on the face of the wearer or at least to reduce the risk of injury to a non-(life-) threatening minimum.

However, the protective effect of visors for ballistic protective helmets usually decreases towards the edges. In particular, hits by projectiles, splinters or punches in an edge region of the visor can cause chipping or a breaking of one or more visor panes, which in turn means a risk of injury for the wearer of the ballistic protective helmet. Also, the resistance against full penetration of prior art visors, usually decreases towards the edge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is therefore based on the problem to provide a visor for a ballistic protective helmet, which minimizes the risk of injury especially from impacts in the edge region, e.g., by projectiles, splinters or punches.

This problem is solved according to claim 1 of the present invention by a visor for a ballistic protective helmet having a visor pane and a splinter protective lip arranged in an edge region of the visor pane, wherein the splinter protective lip encloses at least partly an edge of the visor pane.

Due to the splinter protective lip according to the invention a series of beneficial effects is achieved. First, the protection from separation of splinters is to be mentioned here. The splinter protective lip includes the rim (which e.g., can be milled) of the visor pane, which consists of at least one but also of multiple layers connected with each other. During bombardment with projectiles or splinters or by punches complex processes occur like e.g., breakage, deformation, separation. Usually, splinters form. With increasing proximity to the edge the following mechanisms can lead to a separation of splinters: (i) Due to the separation of single visor panes, splinters that have formed in the proximity of the hit can leak and lead to injury or even death of the wearer. Due to the splinter protective lip according to the claims, such a separation of splinters is prevented or at least reduced in its impact. (ii) Due to the hit in the proximity of the edge, splinters are formed directly on the visor rim as secondary projectiles, which can lead to injury or even death of the wearer. Due to the splinter protective lip according to the invention the leakage of splinters and the separation of splinters, which are formed directly at the visor rim as secondary projectiles is prevented or at least strongly reduced.

Moreover, due to the splinter protective lip according to the invention a break protection is achieved. Due to the bombardment with projectiles or the impact of splinters or punches such forces can impact on the visor, which lead to a break or partly break of the visor pane by kinking or shearing off. During this process, splinters are also created which, as secondary projectiles, can lead to injury or even death of the wearer. Due to the splinter protective lip with its great elongation at break combined with sufficient solidity dampens this behavior and prevents it in the best case, and therefore prevents the separation as secondary projectiles and, in the worst case, full penetration.

A further advantage of the splinter protective lip according to the claims consists in its flame-retardant effect. According to the standards, the products (visor, helmet, etc.) to be tested are exposed to a flame with a temperature of 800+/−50° C. during 12 seconds. After exposing to the flame, the tested product should afterburn/afterglow or drip for a maximum 2 seconds. The splinter protective lip according to the claims improves the flame-retardant properties of the visor in comparison to a visor without splinter protective lip, since the visor rim without splinter protective rim is basically flame sensitive, that is, on impact of the testing flame the visor pane burns for an unacceptably long time on the position of the flame impact. However, if there is a formation of splinters in the edge region, the splinter protective lip reduces the likelihood of the detaching and flying around of splinters by enclosing the visor pane. Anyway, the kinetic energy of nevertheless detached splinters is essentially reduced and thus the potential for injury is reduced.

The visor may be a ballistic visor, a splinter protective visor and/or an impact protective visor. Advantageously, ballistic protective helmets are equipped with such visors to protect the field of view of a wearer from projectiles, splinters or punches. As already mentioned, the splitter protective lip according to the invention prevents the formation of splinters in the edge region of the visor and thus increases the impact of protection of the visor.

The visor may further have a visor carrier, which is configured to connect the visor with a ballistic protective helmet. In this way, the visor may be removably or permanently secured to a protective helmet. Moreover, in a further embodiment, the visor carrier is rotatably placed on the protective helmet such that the visor is removable from the field of view by a rotary motion, e.g., outside a concrete hazardous situation.

The visor pane may have a plurality of layers. This increases the protective effect of the visor. The layers may be single layers of different materials, like e.g., glass, ceramics, and plastics like PMMA and PC, which are connected to each other.

The layers may be connected by means of an adhesive. Advantageously, it is an elastic adhesive, which enables a shearing motion of the layers relative to each other to absorb a part of the kinetic energy of a hit by a projectile, splinter or a punch. Preferably, the adhesive may be a foil adhesive, further preferably based on polyurethane. Also conceivable are adhesives, which are curing under UV light. Basically, the adhesive shall have a great elongation at break.

The splinter protective lip may be made of flame retardant material. Thereby, a burning or scorching of the splinter protective lip by the produced thermal energy of a hit or on contact with burning substances is avoided or at least reduced. In one embodiment, the splinter protective lip is made of polyurethane, whose flame retardant effect is increased by an additive.

The splinter protective lip may be made of polyurethane. Polyurethane has been found to be particularly advantageous, since it meets two basic requirements: Firstly, polyurethane is sufficiently solid to prevent that splinters penetrate the splinter protective lip, which are formed by the impinging of projectiles, splinters or punches. On the other hand, polyurethane has a great elongation at break to support the conversion of the kinetic energy of impinging projectiles, splinters or punches to a deformation of the visor pane.

The splinter protective lip is preferably glued with the visor pane. In this way, the formation of splinters can be more effectively prevented or at least reduced. Due to the usage of an adhesive with a great elongation at break this effect is even further amplified.

The splinter protective lip may have a thickness from 1 mm to 4 mm. In this range, the splinter protective lip fulfils the already mentioned two requirements in an optimal way: Firstly, the separation of splinters as secondary projectiles is effectively prevented or at least reduced and secondly the breaking of the visor pane by kinking or shearing off the visor pane is effectively prevented or at least reduced.

The visor pane may have an external side and an opposing internal side and the splinter protective lip may cover at least a part of the external side, at least a part of the internal side and at least a part of an edge of the visor pane. In this way, the separation of splinters on all sides in the edge region of the visor pane is effectively prevented or at least mitigated.

The splinter protective lip may have a U-shaped or L-shaped cross section. These cross-sections have been found to be particularly advantageous to prevent or at least reduce the separation of splinters.

The splinter protective lip may cover an edge region from 1 mm to 20 mm of the external side and/or internal side of the visor pane, respectively measured from edge of the visor pane. In this range, the splinter protective lip fulfils the already mentioned requirements in an optimal way, namely the protection from separation of splinters, break protection and flame protection.

The splinter protective lip may enclose more than 25% of the circumferential edge of the visor pane. Further preferred, the splinter protective lip may enclose more than 50% of the circumferential edge of the visor pane, even further preferred the splinter protective lip may enclose more than 75% of the circumferential edge of the visor pane. The splinter protective lip and the visor carrier may enclose together more than 90% of the circumferential edge of the visor pane. In this way, specific edge regions of the visor pane may be protected quite precisely by the splinter protective lip or essentially the entire circumferential edge region may be protected by the splinter protective lip.

A further aspect of the present invention is directed to a ballistic protective helmet having a visor as described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is explained in the following by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the figures. The figures show:

FIG. 1A: A front view of an embodiment of a visor according to the invention;

FIG. 1B: A cut along the plane A-A, shown in the FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C: A perspective view of the embodiment of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of visor 1 for a ballistic protective helmet (not shown in the figures) according to the invention is shown in the FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, wherein the FIG. 1A presents a front view, the FIG. 1B a cut along the plane A-A shown in the FIG. 1A and the FIG. 1C a perspective view.

The visor 1 has a visor pane 2 and a splinter protective lip 3, arranged in an edge region of the visor pane 2, wherein the splinter protective lip 3 encloses an edge 4 of the visor pane 2 at least partly. The visor 1 is basically suitable for a ballistic protective helmet, which is for example worn by the policemen or special operations forces. Also conceivable is a military usage of the protective helmets, respectively the visor 1 according to the invention.

The visor 1 may be a ballistic visor, a splinter protective visor and/or an impact protective visor. Ballistic visors are preventing the field of view of a wearer from projectiles from firearms, slings, bows, etc., splinter protection visors from splinters and impact protection visors from punches, whereby e.g., this is also understood to mean, for example, the impingement of objects such as stones or glass bottles. Basically, visors may also have a combination of the mentioned properties, that is, e.g., protect from projectiles, splinters and punches or protect from splinters and punches, etc. The protective effect is achieved by the visor pane 2 in combination with the splinter protective lip 3. Basically, the visor pane 2 may be a single pane of suitable thickness or multiple layers of panes.

In the embodiment of the FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C the visor has one single visor pane 2. As already mentioned, in other embodiments the visor pane may be a multilayer construction. Suitable materials for the visor pane 2 are for example polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC). In case of a multilayer construction, the layers may be connected to each other by means of an adhesive.

A variety of materials can be used for the visor pane, like e.g., glass, ceramic and plastics like e.g., polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polycarbonate (PC). Depending on the protection class, the pane may consist of only one material or a combination of the mentioned materials in which the visor pane is constructed layer by layer. The connection of the single layers usually happens (preferably) by gluing, but also mechanical connections are conceivable like e.g., by screwing or by a frame, which holds the panes together.

In the embodiment of the FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C the visor 1 has a visor carrier 5, which is configured to connect the visor 1 with a ballistic protective helmet (not shown in the figures). In this way, the visor 1 is removably and permanently secured to the protective helmet. The visor carrier has two bearings 10 a and 10 b on its sides such that the visor 1 is rotatable around the axis of rotation marked with the reference sign 11.

The splinter protective lip 3 is made of polyurethane in the embodiment of the FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C. Concretely, this is a material that is specially optimized for flame-retardant applications. Basically, also other materials are conceivable as long as they have sufficient flame retardancy, breaking resistance and solidity.

The splinter protective lip 3 is glued with the visor pane. In the embodiment of the FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, an adhesive 12 is used based on polyurethane. Basically, also other adhesives can be used, like e.g., an adhesive, which is cured under UV light. A prerequisite for this is that the adhesive has similar characteristics like for example flexibility, elongation at break and solidity like the splinter protective lip 3 itself.

In the embodiment of the FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C, the splinter protective lip 3 has a thickness 6 of 2.2 mm (see FIG. 1B). It is also shown in FIG. 1B that the splinter protective lip has a U-shaped cross-section and thus covers the face side 9 of the visor pane 2 as well as its front side 7 and back side 8 at least partly. Other cross sections are conceivable. For example, the cross-section may be L-shaped such that the splinter protective lip 1 covers the face side 9 and the external side 7 or the internal side 8 of the visor pane 2.

In the embodiment of the FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C the splinter protective lip 3 encloses the circumferential edge of the visor pane 2 together with the visor carrier 5 almost completely. Thereby, the splinter protective lip 3 encloses alone more than half of the circumferential edge, namely the sides and the bottom side, while the visor carrier encloses the top side of the visor pane (see FIG. 1A). 

1. A visor for a ballistic protective helmet, having: a visor pane; a splinter protective lip, arranged in an edge region of the visor pane, wherein the splinter protective lip encloses at least partly an edge of the visor pane.
 2. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the visor is a ballistic visor, a splinter protective visor and/or an impact protective visor.
 3. The visor according to claim 1, further having: a visor carrier, which is configured to connect the visor with a ballistic protective helmet.
 4. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the visor pane has a plurality of layers.
 5. The visor according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of layers are connected with each other by means of an adhesive.
 6. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the splinter protective lip is made of a flame retardant material.
 7. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the splinter protective lip is made of polyurethane.
 8. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the splinter protective lip is glued with the visor pane.
 9. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the splinter protective lip has a thickness from 1 mm to 4 mm.
 10. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the visor pane has an external side and an opposing internal side, and the splinter protective lip covers at least a part of the external side, at least a part of the internal side and at least a part of an edge of the visor pane.
 11. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the splinter protective lip has a U-shaped or L-shaped cross section.
 12. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the splinter protective lip covers an edge region from 1 mm to 20 mm of the external side and/or the internal side of the visor pane, respectively measured from the edge of the visor pane.
 13. The visor according to claim 1, wherein the splinter protective lip encloses more than 25% of the circumferential edge of the visor pane.
 14. The visor according to claim 3, wherein the splinter protective lip and the visor carrier together enclose more than 90% of the circumferential edge of the visor pane.
 15. A ballistic protective helmet comprising: a visor, having: a visor pane; and a splinter protective lip, arranged in an edge region of the visor pane, wherein the splinter protective lip encloses at least partly an edge of the visor pane.
 16. The ballistic protective helmet of claim 15, wherein the visor is a ballistic visor, a splinter protective visor and/or an impact protective visor.
 17. The ballistic protective helmet of claim 15, further comprising: a visor carrier configured to connect the visor with a ballistic protective helmet.
 18. The ballistic protective helmet of claim 15, wherein the visor pane has a plurality of layers.
 19. The ballistic protective helmet of claim 15, wherein the plurality of layers are connected with each other by means of an adhesive.
 20. The ballistic protective helmet of claim 15, wherein the splinter protective lip is made of a flame retardant material. 